Search

This paper aims to describe the prevalent forms of intimate partner violence (IPV), and the factors associated with IPV among women and men living in the two migrant communities of Baglung district, Nepal. 357 adult women and men were enrolled following a family model, interviewing young married women with daughter-in-law status in the home, their husbands, and mothers-in-law and fathers-in-laws using an electronic questionnaire. Random effects regression modelling compared men and women, as well as young married women with daughter-in-law status and older women with mothers-in-law with status. 28.6% of women had ever experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner compared to 18.2% of men ever perpetrated these forms of violence against their wives. Being older, male controlling behaviour and poor relations with husband increased women’s IPV in their lifetime while perceptions that the mother-in-law is kind were protective. Being ashamed of being unemployed and childhood trauma were associated with men perpetrating IPV in their lifetime. Borrowing money or food increased young married women’s lifetime IPV risk while mother-in-law cruelty and male control increased older married women’s lifetime IPV exposure. Factors associated with IPV in the past year among men were being younger, job seeking, experiences of childhood trauma and depression exposure among men while difficulty accessing money for emergencies, holding inequitable gender attitudes, and depression was associated with women’s increased IPV exposure. Unemployment stress, holding inequitable gender attitudes and mother-in-law kindness were associated with young women’s increased IPV risk and hunger, mother-in-law cruelty and depression with older women’s IPV risk. There is a need to critically challenge harmful social and gender norms by using approaches that are sensitive to young married women’s position and unequal gender relations in the family. IPV prevention interventions need to employ a holistic approach that combines changing social and gender norms and improving socioeconomic conditions of women living in migrant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breastfeeding within one hour of birth is a critical component of newborn care and is estimated to avert 22% of neonatal mortality globally. Understanding the determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) is essential for designing targeted and effective breastfeeding promotion programmes. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding among Bangladeshi women. Methods: This paper analyses the data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2014. Analysis was based on responses of women who had at least one live birth in the two years preceding the survey (n = 3,162) collected using a structured questionnaire. The primary outcome was breastfeeding initiation within one hour of birth ascertained by women’s self-report. Explanatory variables included woman’s age, education, religion, household wealth, place of residence and place of delivery, birth order, child’s size, antenatal care (ANC), postnatal care (PNC) and skin-to-skin contact. Associations between variables were assessed by simple and multivariable logistic regressions. Results: Of the 3,162 recently delivered mothers, 51% initiated breastfeeding within one hour of delivery. Prevalence of EIBF varied significantly between different types of mode of delivery, among different geographical regions and among women who had PNC with their newborn. Women who had caesarean section (C-section) were less likely to initiate breastfeeding early after birth than women who had normal vaginal delivery (NVD) (AOR: 0.32, 95% CI 0.23 0.43; p value < 0.001). Women who had received PNC with their newborns within one hour of delivery were more likely to breastfeed their babies within one hour of birth compared to those who did not (AOR: 1.61, 95% CI 1.26 2.07; p value < 0.001). Mother’s age, education, religion, household wealth index, place of residence and place of delivery, birth order, number of antenatal visits, child’s size and skin-to-skin contact were not significantly associated with EIBF. Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that investing more effort in ensuring immediate PNC of mother-newborn pair can increase EIBF. Solutions should be explored to increase EIBF among mothers who undergo C-section as C-section is rising rapidly in Bangladesh. Further research is needed to explore the regional differences in the country, including specific cultural practices that influence EIBF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional search tasks have taught us much about vision and attention. Recently, several groups have begun to use multiple-target search to explore more complex and temporally extended “foraging” behaviour. Many of these new foraging tasks, however, maintain the simplified 2D displays and response demands associated with traditional, single-target visual search. In this respect, they may fail to capture important aspects of real-world search or foraging behaviour. In the current paper, we present a serious game for mobile platforms, developed in Unity3D, in which human participants play the role of an animal foraging for food in a simulated 3D environment. Game settings can be adjusted, so that, for example, custom target and distractor items can be uploaded, and task parameters, such as the number of target categories or target/distractor ratio are all easy to modify. We are also making the Unity3D project available, so that further modifications can also be made. We demonstrate how the app can be used to address specific research questions by conducting two human foraging experiments. Our results indicate that in this 3D environment, a standard feature/conjunction manipulation does not lead to a reduction in foraging runs, as it is known to do in simple, 2D foraging tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a human action recognition method using HOIRM (histogram of oriented interest region motion) feature fusion and a BOW (bag of words) model based on AP (affinity propagation) clustering. First, a HOIRM feature extraction method based on spatiotemporal interest points ROI is proposed. HOIRM can be regarded as a middle-level feature between local and global features. Then, HOIRM is fused with 3D HOG and 3D HOF local features using a cumulative histogram. The method further improves the robustness of local features to camera view angle and distance variations in complex scenes, which in turn improves the correct rate of action recognition. Finally, a BOW model based on AP clustering is proposed and applied to action classification. It obtains the appropriate visual dictionary capacity and achieves better clustering effect for the joint description of a variety of features. The experimental results demonstrate that by using the fused features with the proposed BOW model, the average recognition rate is 95.75% in the KTH database, and 88.25% in the UCF database, which are both higher than those by using only 3D HOG+3D HOF or HOIRM features. Moreover, the average recognition rate achieved by the proposed method in the two databases is higher than that obtained by other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recently we defined a user-friendly tool to assess complexity of patients hospitalized in medical wards. FCS-1 is an average between the Barthel Index and the Exton-Smith score, while FCS-2 is obtained by using the Charlson score. The aim of this paper is to assess the ability of the FCS to predict mortality in-hospital and after 1-3-6-12-months. In this perspective, we performed comparisons with the validated Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI). Methods: It is a multicenter, prospective observational study, enrolling patients aged over 40, suffering from at least two chronic diseases and consecutively admitted to Internal Medicine departments. For each patient, data from 13 questionnaires were collected. Survival follow-up was conducted at 1-3-6-12 months after discharge. The relationships between cumulative incidences of death with FCS were investigated with logistic regression analyses. ROC curve analyses were performed in order to compare the predictiveness of the logistic models based on FCS with respect to those with MPI taken as reference. Results: A cohort of 541 patients was evaluated. A 10-point higher value for FCS-1 and FCS-2 leads to an increased risk of 1-year death equal to 25.0% and 27.1%, respectively. In case of in-hospital mortality, the relevant percentages were 63.1% and 15.3%. The logistic model based on FCS is significantly more predictive than the model based on MPI (which requires an almost doubled number of items) for all the time-points considered. Conclusions: Assessment of prognosis of patients has the potential to guide clinical decision-making and lead to better care. We propose a new, efficient and easy-to-use instrument based on FCS, which demonstrated a good predictive power for mortality in patients hospitalized in medical wards. This tool may be of interest for clinical practice, since it well balances feasibility (requiring the compilation of 34 items, taking around 10 minutes) and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivational intensity has been previously linked to information processing. In particular, it has been argued that affects which are high in motivational intensity tend to narrow cognitive scope. A similar effect has been attributed to negative affect, which has been linked to narrowing of cognitive scope. In this paper, we investigated how these phenomena manifest themselves during visual word search. We conducted three studies in which participants were instructed to perform word category identification. We manipulated motivational intensity by controlling reward expectations and affect via reward outcomes. Importantly, we altered visual search paradigms, assessing the effects of affective manipulations as modulated by information arrangement. We recorded multiple physiological signals (EEG, EDA, ECG and eye tracking) to assess whether motivational states can be predicted by physiology. Across the three studies, we found that high motivational intensity narrowed visual attentional scope by altering visual search strategies, especially when information was displayed sparsely. Instead, when information was vertically listed, approach-directed motivational intensity appeared to improve memory encoding. We also observed that physiology, in particular eye tracking, may be used to detect biases induced by motivational intensity, especially when information is sparsely organised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outcomes of bargaining over losses, the subject of this paper, have rarely been studied. But experimental studies of related situations, such as those involving bankruptcies or bequests in which the sum of the legal claims that can be made against a bank or firm or estate are greater than their values, have produced strong support for the proportionality principle. To test whether this principle would find support in other situations involving losses we designed an experimental game in which four players start out with differing initial endowments of real money. They are then informed that a certain amount of this resource has to be given back to the experimenter. How should the loss be shared among the agents? This game was run at different locations and under different treatments over a period of almost three years. We found that the proportionality principle was rarely proposed and even less frequently accepted as a solution to this problem. One of the main reasons for this result was that the two players with the smallest endowments opposed most of the proposals which asked them to contribute at least some positive amount of their own initial resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are a way to assess priority-setting in health care provision. This approach allows for the evaluation of individuals’ preferences as a means of adding criteria to traditional quality-adjusted life year analysis. The aim of this systematic literature review was to identify attributes for designing a DCE in order to then develop and validate a framework that supports decision-making on health technologies. Our systematic literature review replicated the methods and search terms used by de Bekker-Grob et al. 2012 and Clark et al. 2014. The Medline database was searched for articles dated between 2008 and 2015. The search was limited to studies in English that reflected general preferences and were choice-based, published as full-text articles and related to health technologies. This study included 72 papers, 52% of which focused on DCEs on drug treatments. The average number of attributes used in all included DCE studies was 5.74 (SD 1.98). The most frequently used attributes in these DCEs were improvements in health (78%), side effects (57%) and cost of treatment (53%). Other, less frequently used attributes included waiting time for treatment or duration of treatment (25%), severity of disease (7%) and value for money (4%). The attributes identified might inform future DCE surveys designed to study societal preferences regarding health technologies in order to better inform decisions in health technology assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of homogeneity in the product (LHP) is a problem when customers require homogeneous units of a single product. In such cases, the optimal allocation of inventory to orders becomes much more complex. Furthermore, in an MTS environment, an optimal initial allocation may become less than ideal over time, due to different circumstances. This problem occurs in the ceramics sector, where the final product varies in tone and calibre. This paper proposes a methodology for the reallocation of inventory to orders in LHP situation (MERIO-LHP) and a model-based decision-support system (DSS) to support the methodology, which enables an optimal reallocation of inventory to order lines to be carried out in real businesses environments in which LHP is inherent. The proposed methodology and model-based DSS were validated by applying it to a real case at a ceramics company. The analysis of the results indicates that considerable improvements can be obtained with regard to the quantity of orders fulfilled and sales turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People are connected by various social networks, resulting in the interdependence of consumer choice. Therefore, it is very important and realistic to assume choice interdependence in private car ownership modeling. In this paper, we investigate the interdependence of private car ownership choice using a spatial autoregressive binary probit model estimated by the Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. Constructing the autoregressive matrix demographically shows that the private car ownership choice of a household is dependent on other household choices. Compared with the pure binary probit model estimated by the MCMC method, the spatial autoregressive model achieves a significant improvement both in loglikelihood value and log marginal density value, which are calculated using the importance sampling method of Newton and Raftery, from approximately -202 to approximately -63 and from -208 to -145, respectively. Moreover, the results indicated by the spatial autoregressive probit model suggest that the number of children, the ownership of an apartment or the availability of a parking lot are positively and significantly associated with the private car ownership level. To test the out-of-sample performance of the model, we estimate the model using 600 data points and test it using another 148 data points. The results indicate that the predictive power is greatly improved. Finally, we analyze the augmented parameter and discover that it is associated with the parking variable in addition to the license variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The user interaction in online social networks can not only reveal the social relationships among users in e-commerce systems, but also imply the social preferences of a target user for recommendation services. However, the current research has rarely explored the impact of social interaction on recommendation performance, especially now that recommender systems face increasing challenges and suffer from poor efficiency due to social data overload. Therefore, applied research on user interaction has become increasingly necessary in the field of social recommendation. In this paper, we develop a novel social recommendation method based on the user interaction in complex social networks, called the SRUI model, to present a basis for improving the efficiency of the recommender systems. Specifically, a weighted social interaction network is first mapped to represent the interactions among social users according to the gathered information about historical user behavior. Thereafter, the complete path set is mined by the complete path mining (CPM) algorithm to find social similar neighbors with tastes similar to those of the target user. Finally, the social similar tendencies of the users on the complete paths are obtained to predict the final ratings of items through the SRUI model. A series of experimental results based on two real public datasets show that our approach performs better than other state-of-the-art methods in terms of recommendation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lunge motion is one of the fundamental attacks used in modern fencing, asking for a high level of coordination, speed and accuracy to be efficient. The aim of the current paper was the assessment of fencer’s performance and response time in lunge attacks under uncertain conditions. For this study, an innovative fencing lunge simulator was designed. The performance of 11 regional to national-level fencers performing lunges in Fixed, Moving and Uncertain conditions was assessed. The results highlighted notably that i) Accuracy and success decreased significantly in Moving and Uncertain conditions with regard to Fixed ones ii) Movement and Reaction times were also affected by the experimental conditions iii) Different fencer profiles were distinguishable among subjects. In conclusion, the hypothesis that fencers may privilege an adaptation to the attack conditions and preserve accuracy instead of privileging quickness was supported by the results. Such simulators may be further used to analyze in more detail the motor control strategies of fencers through the measure and processing of biomechanical quantities and a wider range of fencing levels. It has also a great potential to be used as training device to improve fencer’s performance to adapt his attack to controlled opponent’s motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we describe two assemblages of flint retouchers or “bulb retouchers” retrieved from Nesher Ramla and Quneitra, two Middle Palaeolithic, open-air sites in the Levant. The site of Nesher Ramla yielded the largest assemblage of bulb retouchers (n = 159) currently known, allowing a detailed investigation of this poorly known phenomenon. An extensive experimental program and use-wear analysis enabled us to characterize the different sets of traces related to the retouching activity and to identify different motions applied by the knappers in the course of this action. In both sites, blanks used as bulb retouchers were almost exclusively retouched items, with a special emphasis on convergent morphotypes in Nesher Ramla. The use of retouched items as bulb retouchers is a common trait over different time spans and geographical areas. Our data suggests that bulb retouchers were versatile, multi-purpose tools with a long use-life, transported over long distances as components of the hunter-gatherer mobile tool kit. The high frequencies of bulb retouchers within some archaeological units of Nesher Ramla appear to be connected to the highly curated nature of the lithic assemblages, in turn reflecting a high mobility of the human groups that produced them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explicit consumers responses are often adverse for the validity of procedures used to estimate consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP). This paper investigates if price evaluations occur automatically and to what extent these automatic processes can be used to implicitly estimate consumers’ WTP. An adapted version of the task-rule congruency (TRC) paradigm was used in two studies. Results of the first study provided evidence for the notion that prices are automatically evaluated. However, the used procedure had limitations that restricted its utility as an implicit WTP estimate. The procedure was adjusted, and an additional study was conducted. The results of the second study also indicated that prices were evaluated automatically. Additionally, the procedure used during the second study allowed to explore to what extent the observed TRC effects could be used to implicitly estimate consumers’ WTP. Taken together, these studies provided evidence for the notion that prices are evaluated automatically. Furthermore, the procedure has the potential to be further developed into an implicit estimate of consumers’ WTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with spinal cord injuries (SCI), and particularly with high level lesions, can potentially lose the ability to effectively operate computers. The Multimedia Authoring and Management using your Eyes and Mind (MAMEM) project aims to design and produce a novel assistive device to support computer use by individuals with SCI and other disabilities. The solution harnesses eye tracking and brain waves, as measured by encephalography (EEG), to manipulate common computer functions. This paper describes the first step in the project, during which we defined clinically related requirements of the assistive device. These definitions were based on data from three sources: (1) a narrative review; (2) a focus group of SCI rehabilitation professionals; and (3) structured questionnaires administrated to potential computer users with SCI, addressing computer-use habits, barriers, and needs. We describe both the collection of data from each source and the clinically related requirements extracted. The novel three-source requirement assessment method is discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages of each data source are reported. In conclusion, we suggest that this approach makes it possible to organize, discuss, and prioritize the requirements, and to create a work program while planning the device. This increases our level of certainty that the efficacy and adequacy of the assistive device will be maximized, in terms of the clinical needs of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the development and baseline data of a vignettes-based measure of gender equality. Methods: Vignettes were developed through 3-day long focus groups. After piloting in 13 sites and repiloting a revised version in 6 countries, responses were categorized by the construct tapped and a scoring system developed. Finalized vignettes were then tested in DR Congo, Ecuador and China. Results: Young adolescents can successfully respond to vignettes; and can differentiate self from hypothetical protagonists of same and opposite sex. Response differences by sex of respondent and protagonist were statistically significant across a range of scenarios and settings. Conclusion: This is the first vignettes-based measure for young adolescents assessing young adolescent perceptions of relationships differentiated by sex of the protagonist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: System science approaches are increasingly used to explore complex public health problems. Quantitative methods, such as participatory dynamic simulation modelling, can mobilise knowledge to inform health policy decisions. However, the analytic and practical steps required to turn collaboratively developed, qualitative system maps into rigorous and policy-relevant quantified dynamic simulation models are not well described. This paper reports on the processes, interactions and decisions that occurred at the interface between modellers and end-user participants in an applied health sector case study focusing on diabetes in pregnancy. Methods: An analysis was conducted using qualitative data from a participatory dynamic simulation modelling case study in an Australian health policy setting. Recordings of participatory model development workshops and subsequent meetings were analysed and triangulated with field notes and other written records of discussions and decisions. Case study vignettes were collated to illustrate the deliberations and decisions made throughout the model development process. Results: The key analytic objectives and decision-making processes included: defining the model scope; analysing and refining the model structure to maximise local relevance and utility; reviewing and incorporating evidence to inform model parameters and assumptions; focusing the model on priority policy questions; communicating results and applying the models to policy processes. These stages did not occur sequentially; the model development was cyclical and iterative with decisions being re-visited and refined throughout the process. Storytelling was an effective strategy to both communicate and resolve concerns about the model logic and structure, and to communicate the outputs of the model to a broader audience. Conclusion: The in-depth analysis reported here examined the application of participatory modelling methods to move beyond qualitative conceptual mapping to the development of a rigorously quantified and policy relevant, complex dynamic simulation model. The analytic objectives and decision-making themes identified provide guidance for interpreting, understanding and reporting future participatory modelling projects and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 5Rights Youth Juries are an educational intervention to promote digital literacy by engaging participants (i.e. jurors) in a deliberative discussion around their digital rights. The main objective of these jury-styled focus groups is to encourage children and young people to identify online concerns and solutions with a view to developing recommendations for government policy-makers and industry chiefs. The methodology included a series of dramatized scenarios that encourage jurors to deliberate about their digital rights. This paper compares two formats for these scenarios: live actors and professionally recorded and edited videos of the same actors. Results failed to show any major differences between formats indicating the cost-effectiveness of the video-recorded format and the possibility for others to run the 5Rights Youth Juries with the support of an online open educational resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the representations and discourse of 41 trainee teachers on the inclusion of gaming elements in education and their potential contribution to covering social problems in the curriculum, and to education on and for gender equality between men and women. The study follows the principles of mixed methods research, based on the transcription, coding, categorisation, and analysis of data obtained from 34 semi-structured interviews and two focus groups, in addition to their descriptive quantitative analysis. The results showed optimum reception of gamification as a useful formative strategy in the various stages of education and that it can be validly used to include gender as a category of analysis in the teaching of social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Impairments in social cognition have been described in several psychiatric and neurological disorders. Given the importance of the relationship between social cognition and functioning and quality of life in these disorders, there is a growing interest in social cognition remediation interventions. The aim of this study was to carry out a systematic mapping review to describe the state of the art in social cognition training and remediation interventions. Methods: Publications from 2006 to 2016 on social cognition interventions were reviewed in four databases: Scopus, PsycINFO, PubMed and Embase. From the initial result set of 3229 publications, a final total of 241 publications were selected. Results: The study revealed an increasing interest in social cognition remediation interventions, especially in the fields of psychiatry and psychology, with a gradual growth in the number of publications. These were frequently published in high impact factor journals and underpinned by robust scientific evidence. Most studies were conducted on schizophrenia, followed by autism spectrum disorders. Theory of mind and emotional processing were the focus of most interventions, whilst a limited number of studies addressed attributional bias and social perception. Targeted interventions in social cognition were the most frequent practice in the selected papers, followed by non-specific treatment interventions and broad-based interventions. Conclusions: Research in social cognition remediation interventions is growing. Further studies are needed on attributional bias and social perception remediation programs, while the comparative efficacy of different interventions also remains unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Queues are inherent to service encounters, as it is not always possible to provide service to all clients at the exact moment they request service. Queues involve waiting for a service in a specific place that might also be crowded, they obstruct the client's’ goal of receiving service, and at times lead clients to mistreat service providers and in extreme cases even attack them violently. We show, in a hospital setting, that perceived predicted future wait and load can buffer the causes of violence towards service staff. Methods: We combine objective data on crowdedness, reports of violence, and durations of time people waited, with psychological measures of perceived load and perceived future wait, collected from 226 people in the Emergency Department (ED) of a large hospital. Visitors to the ED were recruited as they waited for service. They indicated their perceived load in the ED and their perceived remaining wait for service. This data was then triangulated with objective operational data regarding the actual number of people waiting for service (i.e., crowdedness) and objective data regarding staff calls to security to stop violent accounts. Results: We find that with increased crowdedness, there are more calls to security reporting violence. However, this relationship is moderated by two factors: when people perceive the future wait to be short and when they perceive the load on the system to be high. Moreover, a three-way interaction shows that crowdedness is associated with more incidents of violence, however high perceived load and low perceived future wait are associated with fewer violent incidents. Conclusions: This paper demonstrates the relationship between crowded queues and violence towards service staff, and suggests two psychological mechanisms for buffering such violence: reducing perceived future wait and elevating perceived load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University dropout is a growing problem with considerable academic, social and economic consequences. Conclusions and limitations of previous studies highlight the difficulty of analyzing the phenomenon from a broad perspective and with bigger data sets. This paper proposes a new, machine-learning based method, able to examine the problem using a holistic approach. Advantages of this method include the lack of strong distribution hypothesis, the capacity for handling bigger data sets and the interpretability of the results. Results are consistent with previous research, showing the influence of personal and contextual variables and the importance of academic performance in the first year, but other factors are also highlighted with this model, such as the importance of dedication (part or full time), and the vulnerability of the students with respect to their age. Additionally, a comprehensive graphic output is included to make it easier to interpret the discovered rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object handovers between humans are common in our daily life but the mechanisms underlying handovers are still largely unclear. A good understanding of these mechanisms is important not only for a better understanding of human social behaviors, but also for the prospect of an automatized society in which machines will need to perform similar objects exchanges with humans. In this paper, we analyzed how humans determine the location of object transfer during handovers- to determine whether they can predict the preferred handover location of a partner, the variation of this prediction in 3D space, and to examine how much of a role vision plays in the whole process. For this we developed a paradigm that allows us to compare handovers by humans with and without on-line visual feedback. Our results show that humans have the surprising ability to modulate their handover location according to partners they have just met such that the resulting handover errors are in the order of few centimeters, even in the absence of vision. The handover errors are least along the axis joining the two partners, suggesting a limited role for visual feedback in this direction. Finally, we show that the handover locations are explained very well by a linear model considering the heights, genders and social dominances of the two partners, and the distance between them. We developed separate models for the behavior of ‘givers’ and ‘receivers’ and discuss how the behavior of the same individual changes depending on his role in the handover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-management is a concept which is now firmly established in Western healthcare policy and practice. However, the term remains somewhat ambiguous, multi-faceted and contentious. This is evident in stroke care and rehabilitation, in which a self-management approach is increasingly adopted and advocated, yet interpreted in different ways, resulting in contradictions and tensions around control, responsibility, power and discipline. This paper aims to further our understanding of tensions and contradictions in stroke self-management, by critically examining contemporary self-management practices. We use a Foucauldian theoretical lens to explore the various power dynamics in the operationalisation of self-management, in addition to the complexity of the term self-management itself. Conducting a secondary analysis of interview and focus group data from the Self-Management VOICED study, supplemented with analysis of relevant documentary evidence from policy and practice, we describe the multiple aspects of power in operation. These include rhetorical, hierarchical, personal and mutual forms of power, representing interweaving dynamics evident in the data. These aspects of power demonstrate underlying agendas and tacit and explicit understandings of self-management which exist in clinical practice. These aspects of power also give insight into the multiple identities of ‘self-management’, acting as a simultaneous repressor and liberator, directly in keeping with Foucauldian thinking. The findings are also consistent with Foucault’s notions of bodily docility, discussions around governance and biopower, and contemporary discipline. Our analysis positions self-management as a highly nuanced and complex concept, which can fluctuate in its conceptualisation depending on the structures, routines, and the individual. We encourage healthcare professionals, policymakers and commissioners in the field of self-management to reflect on these complexities, to make transparent their assumptions and to explicitly position their own practice accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer around the world, and it represents the main cause of death in the USA. Surgical treatment is the optimal therapeutic strategy for resectable non-small cell lung cancer. The principal factor for long-term survival after complete resection is the anatomic extension of the neoplasm. However, other factors also have adverse effects on operative mortality, and influence long-term outcome. In this paper we propose an algorithmic solution for the estimation of 5-years survival rate in lung cancer patients undertaking pulmonary resection. Materials and methods: We address the issue of survival analysis through decision-making techniques based on fuzzy and soft set theories. We develop an expert system based on clinical and functional data of lung cancer resections in patients with cancer that can be used to predict the survival of patients. Results: The evaluation of surgical risk in patients undertaking pulmonary resection is a primary target for thoracic surgeons. Lung cancer survival is influenced by many factors. The computational performance of our algorithm is critically analyzed by an experimental study. The correct survival classification is achieved with an accuracy of 79.0%. Our novel soft-set based criterion is an effective and precise diagnosis application for the determination of the survival rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful open source software (OSS) projects comprise freely observable, task-oriented social networks with hundreds or thousands of participants and large amounts of (textual and technical) discussion. The sheer volume of interactions and participants makes it challenging for participants to find relevant tasks, discussions and people. Tagging (e.g., @AmySmith) is a socio-technical practice that enables more focused discussion. By tagging important and relevant people, discussions can be advanced more effectively. However, for all but a few insiders, it can be difficult to identify important and/or relevant people. In this paper we study tagging in OSS projects from a socio-linguistics perspective. First we argue that textual content per se reveals a great deal about the status and identity of who is speaking and who is being addressed. Next, we suggest that this phenomenon can be usefully modeled using modern deep-learning methods. Finally, we illustrate the value of these approaches with tools that could assist people to find the important and relevant people for a discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how personality factors affect substance use disorders (SUDs) using explanatory item response modeling (EIRM). A total of 606 Chinese illicit drug users participated in our study. After removing the cases with missing values on the covariate measures, a final sample of 573 participants was used for data analysis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was used to measure the illicit drug users’ SUD level. Four personality factors–anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, sensation seeking and hopelessness–along with gender and alcohol use were included in EIRM as person covariates. The results indicated that gender, alcohol use, and their interaction significantly predicted the SUD level. The only personality factor that strongly predicted the SUD level was sensation seeking. In addition, the interaction between gender and hopelessness was also found to be a significant predictor of the SUD level, indicating that the negative effect of hopelessness on SUD is stronger for women than for men. The findings suggest that sensation seeking plays an important role in influencing SUDs, and thus, it should be considered when designing intervention or screening procedures for potential illicit drug users. In addition, several DSM-5 SUD symptoms were found to exhibit differential effects by gender, alcohol use, and personality factors. The possible explanations were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The news media is a key source for health and medical information, and relies to a large degree on material from press releases (PR). Medical universities are key players in the dissemination of PRs. This study aims to 1) explore the relation between the quality of press releases (PRs) from medical universities and their corresponding news stories (NSs) and 2) to identify the likelihood that specific scientific and interest-raising measures appear or are omitted in PRs and NSs. Methods and findings: In this retrospective study using quantitative content analysis, PRs (n = 507) from 21 medical universities in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the USA and the UK were retrieved. Of all PRs, 33% had media coverage, resulting in 496 NSs. With two codebooks, 18 scientific (e.g. reporting the study design of the study correctly) and 7 interest-raising measures (e.g. words like ‘ground-breaking’) were evaluated in the PRs and NSs. For all measures the percentage of presence in NSs and PRs was calculated, together with a Mean PR Influence Factor. Quality of PRs and NSs was defined as a score, based on 12 of the 18 scientific measures. Mean (SD) NS quality score was 6.5 (1.7) which was significantly lower than the PR score of 8.0 (1.5). The two quality scores were significantly correlated. Quality measures that were frequently omitted included reporting important study limitations (present in 21% of PRs, 21% of NSs), funding (59% of PRs, 7% of NSs) and conflicts of interest (16% of PRs, 3% of NSs). We did not evaluate the quality of the scientific papers (SPs), and can therefore not determine if the quality of PRs and NSs is associated with the quality of SPs. Conclusions: This large study of medical university press releases and corresponding news stories showed that important measures of a scientific study such as funding and study limitations were omitted to a very large extent. The lay public and health personnel as well as policy makers, politicians and other decision makers may be misled by incomplete and partly inaccurate representations of scientific studies which could negatively affect important health-related behaviours and decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent study shows that 617 million children and adolescents–or six out of 10 globally- are not acquiring minimum levels in literacy and mathematics, indicating the magnitude of the learning acquisition problem. For children with disabilities in context of conflict, the situation is arguably even worse: the literature shows that they face difficulties to access the education system due to multiple barriers, and when they do access, they are not learning. Our paper examines if an active education policy promoting inclusion since 2005 in Afghanistan, a protracted crisis context, has been effective. Using two cross sectional household surveys carried out eight years apart (2005–2013), our study shows that access to school and literacy did not improve between 2005 and 2013 for children and youth with disabilities. Both access and literacy outcomes were worse for girls with disabilities, those with a mental, learning or associated disability and those living in household where the head was uneducated. Finally, odds of being mentally distressed significantly declined between 2005 and 2013 indicating that schools might play a protective role for children with disabilities in Afghanistan. Our findings suggest that a multilevel multi-pronged adaptation of the existing system to improve the learning experience and promote children’s resilience, particularly for children with disabilities, in conflict context such as Afghanistan, is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the emergence of the Internet and its rapid growth, people can use mobile devices on many social media platforms (blogs, Facebook forums, etc.), and the platforms provide well-known websites for people to express and share their daily activities and ideas on global issues. Many consumers utilize product review websites before making a purchase. Many well-known websites are searched for relevant product reviews and experiences of product use. We can easily collect large amounts of structured and unstructured product data and further analyze the data to determine the desired product information. For this reason, many researchers are gradually focusing on sentiment analysis or opinion exploration (opinion mining) and use this technique to extract and analyze customer opinions and emotions. This paper proposes a sentimental text mining method based on an additional features method to enhance accuracy and reduce implementation time and uses singular value decomposition and principal component analysis for data dimension reduction. This study has four contributions: (1) the proposed algorithm for preprocessing the data for sentiment classification, (2) the additional features to enhance the accuracy of the sentiment classification, (3) the application of singular value decomposition and principal component analysis for data dimension reduction, and (4) the design of five modules based on different features, with or without stemming, to compare the performance results. The experimental results show that the proposed method has better accuracy than other methods and that the proposed method can decrease the implementation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most papers on the physical condition of birds during spring migration focused on food availability preceding migratory take-off. Only a few studies examined the effect of climate conditions at the wintering grounds upon autumn arrival on bird physical condition later on. Here, we hypothesized that environmental conditions upon arrival at the wintering grounds, and not necessarily upon departure, have a crucial carry-over effect on bird spring migration. Using 29,000 observations of the lesser whitethroat, Sylvia curruca, and the eastern Bonelli’s warbler, Phylloscopus orientalis, we found temperatures upon arrival at the African wintering grounds to be the only climatic variable correlated with birds’ body state upon spring stopover in Israel, six months later. Two different mechanisms could explain these results. One possibility is that high temperatures create favorable conditions for insect activity, which allows rapid recovery from autumn migration and hence successful winter survival and maintenance. Another possible scenario is that harsh conditions, due to the heat and dry environment, cause high mortality, permitting survival of larger individuals which, then, enjoy reduced inter- and intra-specific competition. Whatever the mechanism is, our findings suggest that conditions upon autumn arrival, and not necessarily at the end of winter as traditionally thought, may have a major impact on migrating birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is extensive evidence showing that bilinguals activate the lexical and the syntactic representations of both languages in a nonselective way. However, the extent to which the lexical and the syntactic levels of representations interact during second language (L2) sentence processing and how those interactions are modulated by L2 proficiency remain unclear. This paper aimed to directly address these issues by using an online technique (eye-tracking) that is highly sensitive to the lexical and syntactic processes involved in sentence reading. To that purpose, native-speakers of European Portuguese (EP) learning English as L2 at intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency were asked to silently read temporally ambiguous L2 relative clause (RC) sentences disambiguated with a High-Attachment (HA) or Low-Attachment (LA) strategy while their eye-movements were monitored. Since EP and English native speakers differ in the way they process and comprehend this syntactic structure (EP: HA, English: LA), HA preferences were used as a marker of L1 RC syntax interference. Additionally, the cognate status of the complex NP that preceded the RC was manipulated to further analyze how the lexical co-activation of both languages would also affect the syntactic representations of the non-target (L1) language. Results showed cognate facilitation in early and late reading time measures regardless of L2 proficiency, and also that the cognate status of the complex NP impacted L2 reading performance, particularly at lower levels of L2 proficiency. These findings provide compelling evidence for a bilingual reading system that seems to be highly dynamic and interactive not only within each level of processing, but, importantly, across levels of representation. They also suggested that, as the level of L2 proficiency increases, L1 RC syntax interference becomes stronger, in a syntactic parser that seems to operate in a more integrated and nonselective way, with both strategies being equally available to guide L2 reading comprehension. Results are discussed attending to the current models of bilingual syntactic processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on fine-grained image retrieval based on sketches. Sketches capture detailed information, but their highly abstract nature makes visual comparisons with images more difficult. In spite of the fact that the existing models take into account the fine-grained details, they can not accurately highlight the distinctive local features and ignore the correlation between features. To solve this problem, we design a gradually focused bilinear attention model to extract detailed information more effectively. Specifically, the attention model is to accurately focus on representative local positions, and then use the weighted bilinear coding to find more discriminative feature representations. Finally, the global triplet loss function is used to avoid oversampling or undersampling. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art sketch-based image retrieval methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet provides students with a unique opportunity to connect and maintain social ties with peers from other schools, irrespective of how far they are from each other. However, little is known about the real structure of such online relationships. In this paper, we investigate the structure of interschool friendship on a popular social networking site. We use data from 36, 951 students from 590 schools of a large European city. We find that the probability of a friendship tie between students from neighboring schools is high and that it decreases with the distance between schools following the power law. We also find that students are more likely to be connected if the educational outcomes of their schools are similar. We show that this fact is not a consequence of residential segregation. While high- and low-performing schools are evenly distributed across the city, this is not the case for the digital space, where schools turn out to be segregated by educational outcomes. There is no significant correlation between the educational outcomes of a school and its geographical neighbors; however, there is a strong correlation between the educational outcomes of a school and its digital neighbors. These results challenge the common assumption that the Internet is a borderless space, and may have important implications for the understanding of educational inequality in the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In sports leagues that use an annual draft to assign eligible players to clubs, having a value associated with a draft selection can allow clubs to anticipate future growth of players and, if a trading period exists, assist negotiations when exchanging draft selections and players. Typically, mean draft values often decline in either an exponential or geometric manner with increasing draft selection number. Aggregate mean values have been used to compare trade packages. However, clubs may also want to ensure that a trade does not increase the probability of obtaining poor players in the draft. This paper therefore considers equivalence of risk as an alternative trading strategy for club list managers. Here, risk is defined as the probability of the aggregate value of the received draft selections being below a minimum acceptable level. For risk equivalence, a premium over and above mean market value may need to be provided when trading to secure higher draft selections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes seasonal effects and their potential drivers in charitable giving. We conduct two studies to analyze whether donations to the German Red Cross differ between the Christmas season and summer. In study 1 we find that in the pre-Christmas shopping season prosocial subjects almost donate 50% less compared to prosocials in summer. In study 2 we replicate the low donations in the Christmas season. In an extensive questionnaire we control for several causes of this effect. The data suggest that the higher prosocials’ self-reported stress level, the lower the donations. The higher their relative savings, the lower the giving. Our questionnaire rules out that “donation fatigue” matters. That is, donations do not depend on the number of charitable campaigns subjects are confronted with and their engagement in these activities during Christmas season outside the lab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DIBR-3D technology has evolved over the past few years with the demands of consumers increasing in recent times for future free-view 3D videos on their home televisions. The main issue in 3D technology is the lack of 3D content available to watch using the traditional TV systems. Although, some sophisticated devices like stereoscopic cameras have been used to fill the gap between the 3D content demand and 3D content supply. But the content generated through these sophisticated devices can not be displayed on the traditional TV systems, so there needs to be some mechanism which is inline with the traditional TV. Furthermore, the huge collection of existing 2D content should be converted to 3D using depth image-based rendering techniques. This conversion technique can highly contribute in overcoming the shortage problem of the 3D content. This paper presents a novel approach for converting 2D degraded image for DIBR 3D-TV view. This degraded or noisy/blur image is enhanced through image dehazing and Directional Filter Bank (DFB). This enhancement is necessary because of the occlusion effect or hole filling problem that occurs due to imperfect depth map. The enhanced image is then segmented into the foreground image and the background image. After the segmentation, the depth map is generated using image profiles. Moreover, Stereoscopic images are finally produced using the DIBR procedure which is based on the 2D input image and the corresponding depth map. We have verified the results of the proposed approach by comparing the results with the existing state-of-the-art techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a data collection method that involves repeated sampling of participants’ real-time experience and behavior as they unfold in context. A primary challenge in EMA research is to design surveys that adequately assess constructs of interest while minimizing participant burden. To achieve this balance, researchers must make decisions regarding which constructs should be included and how those constructs should be assessed. To date, a dearth of direction exists for how to best design and carry out EMA studies. The lack of guidelines renders it difficult to systematically compare findings across EMA studies. Study design decisions may be improved by including input from potential research participants (stakeholders). The goal of the present paper is to introduce a general approach for including stakeholders in the development of EMA research design. Rather than suggesting rigid prescriptive guidelines (e.g., the correct number of survey items), we present a systematic and reproducible process through which extant research and stakeholder experience can be leveraged to make design decisions. To that end, we report methods and results for a series of focus group discussions with current tobacco users that were conducted to inform the design of an EMA study aimed at identifying person-specific mechanisms driving tobacco use. We conclude by providing recommendations for item-selection procedures in EMA studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies differences in the effect of temperature on cognitive performance by gender in a large controlled lab experiment (N = 543). We study performance in math, verbal and cognitive reflection tasks and find that the effects of temperature vary significantly across men and women. At higher temperatures, women perform better on a math and verbal task while the reverse effect is observed for men. The increase in female performance in response to higher temperature is significantly larger and more precisely estimated than the corresponding decrease in male performance. In contrast to math and verbal tasks, temperature has no impact on a measure of cognitive reflection for either gender. Our findings suggest that gender mixed workplaces may be able to increase productivity by setting the thermostat higher than current standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A community’s cultural beliefs, attitudes and discourse can affect their responses in surveys. Knowledge of these cultural factors and how to comply with them or adjust for them during data collection can improve data quality. Objective: This study describes implications of features of Gambian culture related to women’s reproductive health, and mortality, when collecting data in surveys. Methods: 13 in-depth interviews of female interviewers and a focus group discussion among male interviewers were conducted in two rural health and demographic surveillance systems as well as three key informant interviews in three regions in The Gambia. Results: From the fieldworker’s viewpoint, questions relating to reproduction were best asked by women as culturally pregnancies should be concealed, and menstruation is considered a sensitive topic. Gambians were reluctant to speak about decedents and the Fula did not like to be counted, potentially affecting estimation of mortality. Asking about siblings proved problematic among the Fula and Serahule communities. Proposals made to overcome these challenges were that culturally-appropriate metaphors and symbols should be used to discuss sensitive matters and to enumerating births/deaths singly instead of collecting summary totals, which had threatening connotations. This was as opposed to training interviewers to ask standardised and precise verbatim questions. Contribution: This paper presents indigenous Gambian solutions by fieldworkers to culturally sensitive topics when collecting pregnancy outcomes and mortality data in demographic and health surveys. For researchers collecting maternal mortality data, it highlights the potential shortcomings of the sibling history methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been decades of research on the usability and educational value of augmented reality. However, less is known about how augmented reality affects social interactions. The current paper presents three studies that test the social psychological effects of augmented reality. Study 1 examined participants’ task performance in the presence of embodied agents and replicated the typical pattern of social facilitation and inhibition. Participants performed a simple task better, but a hard task worse, in the presence of an agent compared to when participants complete the tasks alone. Study 2 examined nonverbal behavior. Participants met an agent sitting in one of two chairs and were asked to choose one of the chairs to sit on. Participants wearing the headset never sat directly on the agent when given the choice of two seats, and while approaching, most of the participants chose the rotation direction to avoid turning their heads away from the agent. A separate group of participants chose a seat after removing the augmented reality headset, and the majority still avoided the seat previously occupied by the agent. Study 3 examined the social costs of using an augmented reality headset with others who are not using a headset. Participants talked in dyads, and augmented reality users reported less social connection to their partner compared to those not using augmented reality. Overall, these studies provide evidence suggesting that task performance, nonverbal behavior, and social connectedness are significantly affected by the presence or absence of virtual content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patient and public involvement (PPI) is a requirement for UK health and social care research funding. Evidence for how best to implement PPI in research programmes, such as National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaborations for Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs), remains limited. This paper reports findings from an action research (AR) project called IMPRESS, which aims to strengthen PPI within CLAHRC East of England (EoE). IMPRESS combines AR with Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) to explore PPI within diverse case study projects, identifying actions to implement, test and refine to further embed PPI. Methods: We purposively selected CLAHRC EoE case study projects for in-depth analysis of PPI using NPT. Data were generated from project PPI documentation, semi-structured qualitative interviews with researchers and PPI contributors and focus groups. Transcripts and documents were subjected to abductive thematic analysis and triangulation within case. Systematic across case comparison of themes was undertaken with findings and implications refined through stakeholder consultation. Results: We interviewed 24 researchers and 13 PPI contributors and analysed 28 documents from 10 case studies. Three focus groups were held: two with researchers (n = 4 and n = 6) and one with PPI contributors (n = 5). Findings detail to what extent projects made sense of PPI, bought in to PPI, operationalised PPI and appraised it, thus identifying barriers and enablers to fully embedded PPI. Conclusion: Combining NPT with AR allows us to assess the embeddedness of PPI within projects and programme, to inform specific local action and report broader conceptual lessons for PPI knowledge and practice informing the development of an action framework for embedding PPI in research programmes. To embed PPI within similar programmes teams, professionals, disciplines and institutions should be recognised as variably networked into existing PPI support. Further focus and research is needed on sharing PPI learning and supporting innovation in PPI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, the Olympic shooting regulations were modified to increase the number of women’s shots from 40 to 60, equaling the number given to men. This research presented in this paper addresses two research issues: (1) has the performance of women’s shooting changed as a result of this increase in the number of shots? and (2) with the equalized number of shots in place, do women and men perform differently? This study included 292 shooters who competed in the 2016 and/or 2018 European Championships who all obtained top-50 results. Our sample included balanced quotas for sports (50% pistol and 50% rifle) and by category (50% women and 50% men). Both championships were held in the same facilities and in the same month of the season, but with the difference that in 2016, women had 40 shots and in 2018 they had 60 shots. We observed that women’s performances did not diminish for the pistol or the rifle category when their number of shots were increased. Men and women shot equally well with rifles, although the men’s performance with pistols was higher than that of women. We concluded that sports in which physical strength is a minor factor, as in the case of shooting, should revise their regulations in the interest of greater gender equality in sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital public displays installed in various locations provide valuable information for the passers-by. However, the static characteristic of the digital public display limits the consumption of the displayed content to a small area. Personal mobile devices such as smartphones are now capable of interacting with digital public displays, which enables the passers-by to “take-away” the content and consume it on-the-go. This process requires device binding, content selection, and transfer between the two devices. In this paper, we propose a device binding method which utilizes the content brightness changing pattern as a unique content ID on the public display and an illuminance sensor on the mobile to bind and transfer between two devices. We conducted performance evaluations for binding algorithm robustness in different conditions. Also comparative studies among other binding interaction methods were conducted. Our results show that our proposed method performed stably across the various conditions and overall performance in interaction completion time and error rate was similar or superior to the existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1959 with the proposal of Double Agar Layer (DAL) method for phage detection and quantification, many sophisticated methods have emerged meanwhile. However, many of them are either too complex/expensive or insensitive to replace routine utilization of DAL method in clinical, environmental and industrial environments. For that purpose, we have explored an alternative method for the detection and quantification of bacteriophages that fulfills the criteria of being rapid, simple and inexpensive. In this paper we have developed a method based on the analysis of optical density kinetics in bacterial cultures exposed to phage-containing samples. Although the decrease in optical density caused by cell lysis was one of the first observable consequences of the effect of viral infection in bacterial cultures, the potential of the method for the assessment of phage abundance has never been fully exploited. In this work we carry out a detailed study of optical density kinetics in phage-infected bacterial cultures, as a function of both, phage abundance and initial concentration of the host organisms. In total, 90 different combinations of bacteria/phage concentrations have been used. The data obtained provide valuable information about sensitivity ranges, duration of the assay, percentages of inhibition and type of lysing behavior for each phage concentration. The method described can detect, as few as 10 phage particles per assay volume after a phage incubation period of 3.5h. The duration of the assay can be shortened to 45min at the expense of losing sensitivity and increasing the limit of detection to 108 pfu/ml. Despite using non-sophisticated technology, the method described has shown sensitivity and response time comparable to other high-end methods. The simplicity of the technology and of the analytical steps involved, make the system susceptible of miniaturization and automation for high-throughput applications which can be implemented in routine analysis in many environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When designing mobile games, how to understand preferences and cognition of players is a topic worth exploring. The main objectives of this paper are to obtain design features of music games on mobile devices, and explore players’ perceptions toward music games. The results can serve as an orientation during decision-making in game design. Based on Miryoku Engineering and the Evaluation Grid Method, this study interviewed 22 frequent users to get concrete features of game design; Moreover, 210 subjects were divided into high, medium, and low involvement groups according to CIP measures, and then this study used Multiple Regression analysis to determine whether players with different levels of involvement had different perceptions of the design features of music games. The results found 44 concrete features and six original evaluations items of game design, and also discovered that there were perception differences in different involvement groups, and only two concrete design features significantly influenced all three groups: ‘Extra games to earn more points after completing levels’ and ‘Playable without internet’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature subspace learning plays a significant role in pattern recognition, and many efforts have been made to generate increasingly discriminative learning models. Recently, several discriminative feature learning methods based on a representation model have been proposed, which have not only attracted considerable attention but also achieved success in practical applications. Nevertheless, these methods for constructing the learning model simply depend on the class labels of the training instances and fail to consider the essential subspace structural information hidden in them. In this paper, we propose a robust feature subspace learning approach based on a low-rank representation. In our approach, the low-rank representation coefficients are considered as weights to construct the constraint item for feature learning, which can introduce a subspace structural similarity constraint in the proposed learning model for facilitating data adaptation and robustness. Moreover, by placing the subspace learning and low-rank representation into a unified framework, they can benefit each other during the iteration process to realize an overall optimum. To achieve extra discrimination, linear regression is also incorporated into our model to enforce the projection features around and close to their label-based centers. Furthermore, an iterative numerical scheme is designed to solve our proposed objective function and ensure convergence. Extensive experimental results obtained using several public image datasets demonstrate the advantages and effectiveness of our novel approach compared with those of the existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores extreme response style to the Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation (LIBRE) Profile, a measure of social participation in burn survivors. We fit a Multidimensional Generalized Partial Credit Model (MGPCM) with a positive extreme response style (PERS) factor and compared this model with the original MGPCM, estimated the impact that PERS has on scores, and examined the personal characteristics that may result in an individual more likely to respond in a fashion that would inflate their true low scores. The average impact of the PERS, based upon the root mean squared bias, ranged from 0.27 to 0.50 of a standard deviation of the scale. Individuals who were older, had participated in a burn survivor support group, and had selected to self-administer the measure were less likely to have a high PERS bias that masks low scores. Future work can consider PERS when measuring the psychosocial impacts of burn injuries and other health conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning analytics and visualizations make it possible to examine and communicate learners’ engagement, performance, and trajectories in online courses to evaluate and optimize course design for learners. This is particularly valuable for workforce training involving employees who need to acquire new knowledge in the most effective manner. This paper introduces a set of metrics and visualizations that aim to capture key dynamical aspects of learner engagement, performance, and course trajectories. The metrics are applied to identify prototypical behavior and learning pathways through and interactions with course content, activities, and assessments. The approach is exemplified and empirically validated using more than 30 million separate logged events that capture activities of 1,608 Boeing engineers taking the MITxPro Course, “Architecture of Complex Systems,” delivered in Fall 2016. Visualization results show course structure and patterns of learner interactions with course material, activities, and assessments. Tree visualizations are used to represent course hierarchical structures and explicit sequence of content modules. Learner trajectory networks represent pathways and interactions of individual learners through course modules, revealing patterns of learner engagement, content access strategies, and performance. Results provide evidence for instructors and course designers for evaluating the usage and effectiveness of course materials and intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual design, learning sciences, and nanotechnology may be strange bedfellows; yet, as this paper highlights, peer interaction between a designer and a scientist is an effective method for helping scientists acquire visual design skills. We describe our findings from observing twelve sessions at the Design Help Desk, a tutoring center at the University of Washington. At each session, a scientist (who is expert in his own domain but a novice in design) consulted a designer (who is expert in design but a novice in science) in order to receive advice and guidance on how to improve a scientific visualization. At the Design Help Desk, this pairing consistently produced a momentary disequilibrium in the scientist’s thought process: a disequilibrium that led to agency (where the scientist gained ownership of his/her own learning) and conceptual change in the scientist’s understanding of visual design. Scientists who visited the Design Help Desk were satisfied with their experience, and their published work demonstrated an improved ability to visually communicate research findings—a skill critical to the advancement of science. To our knowledge, the Design Help Desk is a unique effort to educate scientists in visual design; we are not aware of any other design-advice/tutoring centers at public or private universities in the United States or abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]